School Wars
by Black Robed One
Summary: Starring: Sakura, Naruto, Ino and Lee. Sakura comes to Tokyo where she is transferred into Konoha High School, not yet knowing about role she is to play in bloody war between nine rival schools…
1. Chapter One

Author's notes:

This story is a crossover between Naruto and Ikki Tousen, but will mostly focus on Naruto characters, and therefore, you can enjoy reading it even if you haven't seen Ikki Tousen. This story will take place in alternative Ikki Tousen universe, with Konoha High School and Suna Institute, as well as most teenage Naruto characters, added to it. Oh, and in this story, Genin from Rookie Nine and Team Gai are 16 and 17 years old respectively. Itachi is also 17, one year older then Sasuke. Of Sand Siblings, Gaara is 16, while Temari and Kankuro are 17.

Keys:

"text" – dialogue

'text' – communication via phone, comlink, etc...

"_text"_ – thoughts

_text_ – song lyrics (sometimes the songs will be the part of the story, other times they will be made in form of musical fill-ins or background songs, like the ones we often encounter in the anime)

**text** – will be used in numerous of diverse cases, including (but not limited to): indication of beginning and end of flashbacks, indication of how much time has passed since the last scene, some text characters read or see, etc.

Disclaimer:

I don't claim ownership over either Naruto or Ikki Tousen animated series. This story is a fanfictional work that has been written without either of these animated series' acknowledged owners' knowledge or permission, and will be removed from the view of the public should any of them request it.

**Chapter One**

A powerful blow knocked a teenage boy, clad in robe-like black clothes, off his feet. His opponent, dressed in jeans and white shirt, smirked and flexed his hand muscles, displayed a small red comma-shaped stone tied to his left wrist.

He stepped towards his seemingly beaten opponent to finish his off, when a sudden pain surged through his left leg, forcing the teenager in white shirt to his knees.

"_Can't be! I didn't even feel it!.."_

The teenager in white shirt looked up right in time to see the foot coming to meet his face: just the first of the series of blows his black-clad opponent unleashed upon him. The quickly approaching footsteps of his classmates coming to his aid were the last thing the teenager in white shirt heard before a particularly powerful kick at his head sent him into darkness…

* * *

It is in the land of Eastern Japan that students bathe the land in blood and shatter one another's bones. In this region nine schools vie for supremacy over the land. These schools are: Rakuyou High School, Konoha High School, Nanyou Institute, Seito Academy, Suna Institute, Kyoshou High School, Yoshuu Institute, Chengtu High School, and Liangzhou High School.

For 1800 years, these warriors have fought an endless battle spanning countless generations. They were known as champions.

And, one day…

* * *

**Konoha High School**

A girl of about sixteen years of age, stood outside the school's gates. She had pink hair and green eyes, and was dressed in crimson Chinese dress and sandals.

The pink-haired girl sighed and checked her watch, which said that it was 10:05.

"_Where is that__ baka? He promised to…"_

Her thinking was interrupted as she heard sounds commotion coming from inside the school yard. Peeking through the open gates, the pink-haired girl confirmed her worst suspicions: a fight between students has apparently erupted, with other students watching it with interest.

The pink-haired girl let out another sigh.

"_What am I doing here? This place better suits idiots like… Wait a second! Could it be?.."_

With none of her former timidity left, the pink-haired rushed through the gates into the school yard. She managed to make her way through the crowd of students just in time to see a blond teenager in orange jumpsuit hitting the ground hard. His opponent, a black-haired teenager of the same age, dressed in dark gray jacket with a hood, stood over him smirking.

"You can't go out with Hinata-chan if you are not able to protect her!"

"Shut up, you bastard! I am not done yet!"

In a blink of an eye, the blond teenager jumped back to his feet. The two combatants exchanged blows and blocks for a few seconds, before jumping back at the same time to catch their breath, both bruised; they were about evenly matched, and it looked like their fight was going to be a long one.

At the side, a black-haired girl in dark gray jacket watched the combat, twiddling her fingers nervously…

"Naruto-kun… Kiba-kun…"

…When she suddenly felt a hand upon her shoulder.

"Hinata-chan, let them work it out on their own."

Never noticing a brief exchange between of the watchers, the pink-haired girl watched as two combatants charged at one another once more with increasing alarm.

"_At this rate, they are going to severely injure each other! I have to stop them, but… What can I do?"_

One moment two combatants were about to clash, the next – both were sitting on the ground.

"It stops here."

In surprise, the pink-haired girl along with majority of watchers looked at the speaker: a black-haired boy of about seventeen years of age, dressed in white T-shirt and black shorts, who now stood before two stunned combatants.

"Fighting over girl won't get you anything… The only thing this kind of behaviour proves is that the two of you don't deserve to be called fighters."

The teenager started to leave, but then half-turned to look at black-haired girl two boys were fighting for.

"And, Hinata-chan… If you want to be fighter, you shouldn't be afraid to stand up for what you believe in."

With that being said, the teenager went into the school building, and seeing that the show was over, the other students also started to leave. The pink-haired girl went to the blond teenager's side, who visibly brightened at the sight of her.

"Sakura-chan! Long time no see! Ano… Gomen ne, Sakura-chan. I was going to meet you at the gate but… This happens."

Sakura suppressed an urge to yell at her childhood friend as she listened to his excuse. From the look of things, Naruto's opponent wasn't the only one to be blamed in this conflict, but…

"Never mind, I am just glad that guy came to break you apart before you injured each other. Who was he, by the way?"

Naruto's face visibly darkened when Sakura mentioned that guy.

"He is Hyuuga Neji," Naruto said, and after a pause, added hesitantly, "He is one of Konoha's five strongest fighters. But… Someday I am going to get this strong too! Then I'll show them all!"

And these words caused Sakura to look at her childhood friend sadly…

**(Flashback)**

"Sakura-chan, tomorrow I am going to Konoha High School in Tokyo!" A fourteen years old Naruto said fervently, "They say that some of the best fighters go there!"

"Fighters?" A fourteen years old Sakura asked.

"Yeah! Jiraiya Ji-chan said that all of them are going to have soul stones too, just like us! That means that… Ano, I always forget what they are for, actually… But it's like they are like us! Anyway, I am going to study in Konoha High School and become the best fighter ever! You gotta come visit me there someday, Sakura-chan! By then I'll show everybody what a great fighter I am and will become Konoha's leader!

**(/Flashback)**

"Things didn't work out as you expected, ne, Naruto-kun?" Sakura muttered quietly.

"Huh, what was that, Sakura-chan?"

"Nothing, Naruto-kun. C'mon, you promised to show me around since I was just transferred here!"

"Oh no! Our classes have already started!"

"_So they DO study here. At least __that's something."_

* * *

Meanwhile, another black-haired teenager looked at the list of paper that lay before him.

**Transfer Student: Haruno Sakura**

"Haruno Sakura, huh?"


	2. Chapter Two

Author's notes:

Before starting this chapter, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter of this story of mine. Well, I must say that I got fewer reviews then I hoped, but I guess it is understandable, considering that crossovers generally aren't as popular as the fanfictional stories based on a single anime. Nevertheless, domo arigato gozaimasu, minna-san! Thank you very much, everyone!

Oh, and for those who are reading my "The Path of Her Own" story, don't worry, I didn't discard it in favour of this one (or any other stories I may post soon), I am just experiencing a bit of author's block with it. But don't worry, I have that story thought-out very well, and I will continue and eventually finish it sooner or later.

And now, without farther ado, let's get to the second chapter of this story of mine!

**Chapter Two**

Hyuuga Neji, one of Konoha's five strongest fighters, walked down the hall gloomily, angry partially at himself for wasting time to stop those fools' fight, partially at his cousin for just standing there and watching two boys she cared for beating one another into the bloody pulp. And seeing Neji's mood, all students he happened upon were quick to get out of his path. All except for one…

"You know, it isn't your place to decide whether the other students should be allowed to fight or not. The famous Hyuuga Neji must be getting soft to get so concerned over some weaklings' wellbeing."

The voice was cold, but with hint of mockery about it, and Neji could easily identify the speaker without bothering to glance at him. It was, of course, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Mind your own business, Uchiha, and you might get to the class in time for once." Neji's voice was also cold, with just a hint of irritation about it.

"Hm, like I care."

Neji just went on, but then commented, still not looking at Sasuke, "By the way, the newly transferred girl seems to be rather cute, and she is in your class. Perhaps you should get yourself a girlfriend of once? By now, we have all kinds of rumors regarding your sexual orientation…"

"Another fan girl to flock after me. Just great." Sasuke commented, pointedly ignoring Neji's last sentence.

But Neji has already disappeared behind the corner, leaving Sasuke with nothing better to do then to slowly head for his class.

* * *

"Class, this is your new classmate, Haruno Sakura!" The young female teacher announced, "Haruno-san, take any free seat."

Sakura didn't hesitate to take seat beside her childhood friend, Uzumaki Naruto, which fortunately wasn't occupied. Needless to say, she felt more then a little uneasy about getting transferred, especially to a school like Konoha, but for once she was grateful that she wasn't particularly beautiful; at least, she didn't attracted boys' leering stares and girls' jealous stares.

"Alright, now let's continue the lesson…"

The lesson of Chinese History continued for another fifteen minutes or so, before another student entered the classroom, when a good half of the lesson has already passed. Without excusing himself, or saying anything else for that matter, the student took a seat in the third row, not even pretending that he was listening to the lecture. Luckily, everyone in Konoha High School was already used to this particular student and his behaviour. Everyone except for a certain transfer student, that's it…

"Who was he?"

Ever a diligent student, Sakura normally wasn't the one to talk at the lecture, but the newcomer's behaviour and everyone's acceptance of it sparked her interest. Not to mention that she couldn't help blushing slightly when she thought of how handsome he was…

"That bastard? He is Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto replied, and after pausing once again, added hesitantly, "He is another of Konoha's five strongest fighters."

Sakura shifted her gaze from her childhood friend to Sasuke. Now when she thought of it, she realized that she would be surprised if he wouldn't be among Konoha's best: that lean but powerful frame, that cool air of superiority…

Seeing that look Sakura was giving Sasuke, Naruto barely suppressed a groan. For some reason Naruto couldn't understand, most girls in Konoha High were head over ears in love with Sasuke, never minding the fact that he was unemotional bastard who couldn't care less about their feelings. And to think that he thought that Sakura was smarter then that…

"Ne, Naruto-kun, does Sasuke have a girlfriend? What kind of girls does he like?"

…Yup, so long to such thoughts.

"Humph, about every girl in this school wants to be his girlfriend. He doesn't seem to like girls, though." Naruto did some thinking on the last point, and then added with a grin, "Hey, maybe he is a gay?"

Unlike Naruto, Sakura wasn't to happy about this possibility. She cast another glance at Sasuke, let out a wistful sigh, and returned to listening the lecture… And neither of the two friends noticed a faint sound coming from behind them, the sound of a pen being snapped in the two.

"_Gay, you say?.."_

The blonde teenage girl, who just happened to sit at the desk behind Naruto and Sakura wasn't too happy about the conversation she overheard; neither about some transfer girl being interested in HER Sasuke, nor the infamous good-for-nothing student's comments about him.

It was then the blond girl's cell phone vibrated, interrupted her thoughts. Knowing too well that it could be more important then a lecture or petty grudges, the blond girl took her cell phone out of pocket and read SMS message she received. And almost immediately, the blond girl's slight frown turned into somewhat cruel grin; really, all she needed was an excuse… And perhaps, such was their destiny, after all. Well then, she was ready!

* * *

The first day in the new school left Sakura in relatively good mood. At least she was pleasantly surprised that this school's students DID study, rather then busy themselves with breaking one another's bones all day long.

The fights between students were still a commonplace occurrence during the breaks, but this wasn't as bad as Sakura feared it would be. And at least she managed not only to stay out of fights, but to keep Naruto out of them as well. Though Sakura's aunt trained her in martial arts since her early childhood, and she knew that Naruto was nearly as competent when it came to fighting, Sakura would nevertheless prefer not to get into fights any time soon; she may be a competent fighter, but it didn't mean she had to enjoy fighting…

"Hey, you! Yes, you, big-forehead girl!"

The two friends turned to see a blond teenage girl, dressed in white in purple outfit, standing in the middle of the corridor behind them. It also didn't escape their notice how other students who were around quickly clear the space for three of them.

"I see you have a soul stone," the blond girl continued, referring to a small green comma-shaped stone Sakura worse around her neck as a pendant; Naruto wore a similar stone, except that his was white in color. "Good, I wouldn't want to beat on someone way bellow me." As if this was an illustration of her point, the blond girl flicked her own small comma-shaped stone, white like Naruto's, which she wore in her left ear as an earring.

"But I guess, I should introduce myself first. I am Yamanaka Ino." The blonde girl continued with a smile, and then asked in the same cheerful tone, "Are you ready to take some beating, big-forehead girl?"


	3. Chapter Three

Author's notes:

Again, before starting this chapter, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the previous chapter of this story of mine, namely: **Sakira-chan**, **JovianShe-Wolf**, **nameless** and **MistressBlossom**. Domo arigato gozaimasu, thank you very much!

I particularly thank you for keeping reading and reviewing this story of mine since the first chapter of it, **MistressBlossom**. Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long, over two months, in fact, for this chapter of this story of mine; I can only hope that you will find it to your liking.

I also thank you very much for your kind words, **nameless**-san, however, I am sorry to tell you, that updating this story of mine isn't really my priority at the moment (I will probably still devote much of my attention to my Elfen Lied/Bubblegum Crisis crossover – "Bubblegum Crisis 2033: The Story of Number 7", and I also need to update my "The Path of Her Own" story some day), so I cannot promise you when I will come up with the next chapter of this story of mine, but it will probably take me well over a month, perhaps even as long as three months (that is how much time has passed between uploadings of first and second chapters of this story of mine). I can only hope that you, as well as my other readers/reviewers will be willing to wait that long to read and possibly review the next chapter of this story of mine as well.

**JovianShe-Wolf**, I usually don't reveal the pairings ahead, but since you insist, alright, this isn't really a Sakura/Sasuke romance story (though Sakura was quick to develop a crush on Sasuke, probably pretty much like it happened in Naruto reality). In fact, romantic relations won't have a major part in this story of mine (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!), so I'd advice readers not to be too concerned about "who gets who". With that being said, I still have one more or less major pairing planned (which will involve neither Sakura nor Sasuke), as well as two less detailed "attempts at romance", which, however, won't likely end to readers' satisfaction. Oh, and I thought I'd also mention, that even though Naruto is (at least, currently) as close to being "2nd main character" as this story has, this isn't a Sakura/Naruto romance story either, it is rather a Sakura/Naruto friendship story.

Oh, and before starting this chapter of this story of mine, I would also like to tell my readers that I have recently completed a banner for this story of mine, which among other things depicts two of Ikki Tousen's main characters, one of whom will make a brief appearance a few chapters later. If you would like to take a look at this banner, it is now available from my bio page; just scroll to the "Status of my incomplete stories" part of it, and you will find the link to the banner for this story of mine beside "School Wars" entry.

Alright, and now without farther ado, let's get to the third chapter of this story of mine!

**Chapter Three**

"You know, I don't care who you are, or whether you are a girl or no. If you wanna fight Sakura, you will have to go through me first."

"Naruto…"

Sakura looked at her childhood friend in surprise and new-found respect, and saw the same look of determination upon his face he had whenever he defended her from bullies back when they were children. But this time she also saw a hint of something new… Tension… Worry… Fear?.. And suddenly realized that despite his words, Naruto wasn't half as certain in his victory as he tired to make it sound. But why? After all, it was just some random girl-fighter, right?

Shifting gaze back to the girl, that Yamanaka Ino, Sakura saw that she didn't seem to be particularly impressed with Naruto's speech.

"You do realize that you will be but a nuisance, ne, dead last loser?" Ino asked, smirking at Naruto.

The insult had the same effect on Naruto as a red cloth on a bull, and in a trice, he charged forward with an obvious intent of making Ino pay for what she said. But what surprised Sakura was an ease with which Ino ducked under Naruto's blow, before ramming her small but obviously strong fist into his stomach. The force of the blow caused Naruto to stumble backwards unsteadily, coughing up some blood.

"You bi…"

Naruto never got to finish his insult, for the next moment Ino was upon him. Naruto tried to counterattack, but Ino once again easily dodged his blow by ducking to the ground, and then, balancing on one hand, turned around and rammed both her feet into Naruto's left side.

The force of this blow was so strong, that it sent Naruto flying through the air until he struck the corridor's wall, leaving a dent in it as he then proceeded to fall to the floor, barely conscious.

Shocked, Sakura turned her gaze from her friend, who was beaten quicker then she fully realized what was happening, to the blond girl. Ino was already back on her feet, standing straight and smiling at Sakura as if nothing was amiss.

"Liked what you saw, big-forehead girl?" She asked teasingly, "That's what will happen to you too in a few seconds. Unless you manage to put up more of a fight then this loser, but somehow I doubt you will."

And as Ino confidently stepped towards her, Sakura had to restrain herself from taking a step back. She was pretty good in martial arts, if she said so herself, but it was obvious to her that her opponent was a true martial arts master, even though she was of the same age as Sakura.

But the a sight of Naruto, still lying by the wall he was thrown against, barely conscious, caught Sakura's eye.

"_How dares she beat us just like this?!"_ Sakura thought angrily, turning her gaze to look at Ino's still smiling face once again, _"Almost as though… This is but a game to her! She may be strong, but it doesn't give her the right to act like this!"_

"We shall see who will be the next to end like this," Sakura suddenly said aloud, looking at the blond girl defiantly even as she continued to advance at her, and then added, almost copying Naruto's earlier words, "I don't care who you think you are, but I won't Naruto to be beaten by the likes of you. I will make you pay for what you've done to him."

"Really?" Ino never stopped smiling throughout Sakura's speech, "Well, let see what you are capable of. Though personally, I doubt it will be much."

Unlike Naruto, Sakura didn't charge forward. She recognized Ino's fighting style as the Monkey Style of Kung-fu, and although Sakura has never practiced with it herself, she was nevertheless familiar with this style of Kung-fu, at least theoretically. And thus, Sakura knew that the main strength of Ino's fighting style was in defense and counterattack, not offense. If she makes Ino to go into offense, perhaps she will have a chance…

"_A very small chance,"_ Sakura realized grimly despite her earlier bold words, _"But still…"_

Still smiling, Ino meanwhile continued to slowly advance towards Sakura, almost as though she guessed her intentions. But what took Sakura completely by surprise what the suddenness with which Ino unexpectedly broke from her slow advancing into a lightning-quick charge. And before Sakura knew it, Ino's small but very strong fist slammed into her abdomen, throwing her a few feet backwards. Sakura tried her best to keep her balance, but the force of the blow was such that she failed miserably, and the next second she painfully, and what was worse – humiliatingly fell on her rear.

"This blow was just for the show," Ino said with a seemingly ever-present smile upon her face, as she remained standing a few feet away from Sakura, "I just didn't want to put you out of the fight as quickly as I did your friend over there; it would be rude to do so, after all, the fun has only begun. So… I hope you are ready for more, ne?"

The next minute or so seemed like a pure hell for Sakura, who took more blows then she could count and was now hurting everywhere. But even so, Sakura couldn't help noticing that Ino was indeed pulling back her blows that were resulting in more then a little pain, but no serious injuries. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing, though, since it only served to prolong a hopelessly one-sided fight; Ino was simply too fast and too skillful for Sakura to beat her…

"_No, I won't be beaten, not by the like of her!"_ Sakura told herself, as she rose to her feet after a particularly painful blow she took.

But even as she thought this, Sakura could feel her strength waning; the pain from the countless blows she took was becoming too much for her to bear with it. But even so…

"_This is my last blow…"_ Sakura thought, as she charged at Ino one more time.

As usually, with a seemingly ever-present smile upon her face, Ino just stepped forward and to the right, side-stepping Sakura's blow with effortless ease. But this time Sakura was not done: stopping dead on spot, Sakura quickly turned around, striking out with her right leg at Ino's ribcage as she did so. However, Ino's small fist coming to meet her face was the last thing Sakura saw before the darkness engulfed her…

* * *

Sakura didn't know how much time had passed before she finally opened her eyes and immediately saw a familiar face over her.

"Are you ok, Sakura-chan?" There was a genuine concern written all over Naruto's face as he asked it, and this was the part of her usually carefree friend that Sakura didn't see too often.

"I am fine, Naruto," Sakura managed to say weakly in response.

The truth was that her body still hurt all over, but the pain was slowly receding, and when Sakura tried to move she could see that she had no broken bones or any other serious injuries. Which was definitely a good thing, but… Judging by what she could see from her half-lying half-sitting position, Sakura instantly realized where she was: it was the school's medical wing. And it could mean only one thing…

"Ne, Naruto?.. I have lost that fight didn't I?"

Sakura suddenly felt like crying, and in fact, she found herself unable to hold back tears, which flowed freely the next second. Though neither Naruto nor she were seriously injured, there were plenty of other students in the corridor where the fight have taken place to see Naruto and her getting beaten by some girl-fighter like they were children. And by tomorrow, the rumor of their rather humiliating defeat would probably be all over the school…

"Hey, don't cry, it is I who should be crying. I still can't believe that you managed to make it a tie."

"Huh?" Sakura turned into the direction of the voice, and immediately saw a familiar figure lying on one of nearby beds, "You?.."

"Yes," Yamanaka Ino replied with a weak smile upon her face, "That last blow of yours wasn't half-bad, Sakura."

* * *

"You know, I still can hardly believe that," Naruto said, as he and Sakura were leaving the school building, "I mean, you fought Yamanaka Ino and won. You are great, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura didn't feel particularly great, as a matter of fact, her entire body still hurt, though she was nevertheless glad that she hasn't completely lost her fight with Ino. And speaking about Ino…

"Who was that Ino girl anyway?" Sakura asked, "You talk like you already know her."

"Oh right, I forgot that you had no way of knowing it! Well, Yamanaka Ino is…" Naruto paused, "Actually, she is another of the Five."

"She is one of Konoha's five greatest fighters?! No way!" Sakura could hardly believe what her childhood friend was saying, _"And I was able to beat her?! Well, end the fight in tie, but still…"_

"It's true!" Naruto said, "They say she isn't really as strong as Sasuke or Neji, but… Well, you saw her today. But you were just great too, Sakura-chan! Anyway, let me walk you to your apartment, Sakura-chan. You are staying at Shizune Sou, right?"

* * *

Yamanaka Ino, one of Konoha's five greatest fighters, had mixed feelings as she exited the school's medical wing. She knew it would be like this, and had no regrets about going along with it, not really, but being beaten in a fight nevertheless left a sour taste in her mouth; it was quite a while since the previous time something like this had happened to her. And not only that, but her ribcage still hurt from Sakura's blow, in fact, the doctor suggest her to remain in the school's hospital wing at least until tomorrow. But Ino had her mind on this matter: she was a fighter, and she has had it worse, much worse. As long as none of her ribs were broken and she could move around normally, she wasn't going to lie in bed like some invalid.

As Ino exited the school's medical wing, her eyes immediately fall upon a darkened figure sitting on one of the chairs beside the door. The figure was clearly that of a black-haired teenager of around Ino's age, and even though his features were mostly hidden by the shadows, Ino immediately recognized this particular black-haired teenager.

"You know, I am Yamanaka Ino, one of Konoha's five greatest fighters, and I am not someone you should be worrying about," Ino said with a smile, "But thanks for coming anyway."

For a brief second the black-haired teenager raised his dark eyes to meet Ino's before dropping his gaze back to the floor. Then…

"I'm sorry for getting you into this, Ino."

"Aw, c'mon!" Ino said, still smiling, "You know, I'd probably find some excuse for fighting her one way or another. We both have our destines, after all."

The black-haired teenager was silent for a few seconds; he knew all too well that it was of no use to tell Ino that he didn't believe in such things as destiny. Ino, on the other hand, was one of the few people in this time and age who still believed in such things as destiny, probably because such concepts as destiny went well with all those manga books that Ino was known for reading with much more passion and interest then the history books.

Realizing that Ino was expecting him to say something, the black-haired teenager sighed and finally spoke again, "Anyway, beside your destines… How do you find her?"

"Well, her skill is somewhat lacking, but she is extremely strong, and all in all, she can be quite a lethal fighter, under the certain circumstances. In short…" Ino's smile grew wider as she finished, "She will be of use to us."


	4. Chapter Four

Author's notes:

I am sorry ahead, minna-san, because this chapter of this story of mine turned out to be somewhat short, but I hope it will be somewhat counterweighed by the fact that I wrote it very quickly, in only five days, in fact. The next chapter of this story of mine will likely take me much more time to write, though…

Anyway, before starting this chapter of this story of mine, I again would like to thank everyone who reviewed the previous chapter of this story of mine, namely: **chm01**, **JovianShe-Wolf**, **Animal Comunicator** and **MistressBlossom**. Domo arigato gozaimasu, thank you very much!

Yes, I know I really took my time updating this story of mine, **chm01**, sorry about this again. I hope that coming up with this chapter of this story of mine in such a shot time will somewhat make up for the delays with the previous chapters of it. Oh, and Naruto will be pretty much what I believe he would have been if he didn't have Kyuubi sealed in him (and in a reality without ninja techniques too, though without nearly infinite supply of chakra Kyuubi grants him, Naruto probably wouldn't have all that much success in executing such high-ranked techniques as Shadow Clone Technique or Rasengan anyway): a more or less average-level fighter, neither really weak, but nor on the same level as Konoha's Five or Sakura (who, with her great strength and quick mind has much more potential as a martial artist then Naruto, I believe; in fact, if you have read my "The Path of Her Own" story, you have probably noticed that I have Sakura leaning towards Taijutsu/Martial Arts in that story of mine as well). Even so, Naruto WILL have his moments (at least one), though for the most part, his fighting skills will pale next to those of Sakura and some other fighters.

And, **JovianShe-Wolf**, I am glad the previous chapter of mine evoked so many questions from you. I like to add little mysteries into my stories, and when they leave the reader wondering about what is going on and what is going to happen, I take it as they served their purpose. With that being said, a few (but by all means, not all!) of your questions will likely be answered in this chapter of this story of mine.

**Chapter Four**

Shizune Sou was just as Sakura remembered it: a small inn on the outskirts of Tokyo. Though quite a long way from all the major shops and such, Shizune Sou was a perfect place for Sakura to stay, not only because it was mere thirty minutes of walking away from Konoha High School, but also this particular inn's owner wasn't going to take rental fee from Sakura, and money was something she was short on. Shizune Sou stood empty most of the time, but it didn't seem to concern its owner Shizune much, as she worked as a surgeon as her main job, and was in fact quite renowned as such, making certain that her work was paid very well. Keeping an inn was more like a hobby then a source of profit to her.

"Alright, thanks for walking with me. Until tomorrow, Naruto," Sakura said, turning her gaze from the inn to her childhood friend, only to catch his surprised gaze.

"What are you talking about Sakura-chan? I am living in Shizune Sou too, didn't you know?"

"Oh!"

Now Sakura remembered it, and as two friends made their way towards the inn, she wondered if living together was such a good idea. Of course, there wasn't really anything going between them, and it wouldn't be the same thing as living in the same house, Shizune Sou was an inn, after all, but still, living together with Naruto, almost all by themselves…

"Ha-ha-ha, I won again! Want a revenge?"

Both Naruto and Sakura were surprised when they heard a loud voice coming from Shizune Sou's common room, which obviously didn't belong to Shizune.

"Oh no, I know this voice!" It was Naruto who was the first to recognize this particular voice.

"Hiccup, I'll wipe this grin off you face! I am not going to lose this one!"

"Oh no, I know this voice!" This time, it was Sakura who was the first to recognize the second voice.

Naruto and Sakura exchanged glances before they asked in unison.

"What the hell are they doing here?!"

And as Naruto and Sakura hurriedly opened Shizune Sou's doors and rushed into its common room to confirm their worst suspicions, a rather undignified picture opened before them: an obviously intoxicated older man and much younger-looking woman were sitting at the table, with deck of cards between them, and quite a few already empty bottles of sake scattered around the table. This alone wasn't so bad, but what made the picture worse, or better, depending upon the observer's point of view, was the fact that the woman barely had any clothes left: only a very light sleeveless vest and underwear. The game the two were playing was apparently a strip poker, and from the look of things the woman was losing hopelessly.

"T-Tsunade-sensei?!" Sakura was the one to raise the voice at the scene opened before her eyes, while Naruto was silently enjoying the view; he wasn't a pervert, not really, but being a normal teenage boy he still found it difficult to tear his eyes from what he was seeing, as despite her actual age, the woman called Tsunade looked young and very, very beautiful.

"Huh?" The woman called Tsunade turned away form her opponent to look at two visitors, "Ah, Sakura-chan! I see you are back from school already."

"Hai, Tsunade-sensei," upon catching Tsunade's glance, Sakura bowed politely, though it was mostly done in order to hide disapproval written all over her face, "Please, allow me to be of assistance here."

With that being said, Sakura left her school bag at the doorway and strode into the room, taking place beside Tsunade at the table. Sakura felt more then a little discomfort at sitting beside her teacher in the state of undress the later was currently in, but she decided that she could bear with it: for the greater good and the victory over the perverts of this world!

"Hey, not fair!" Naruto's school bag quickly joined Sakura's near the doorway, as the blond teenager also rushed into the room and took the seat beside the older man, "Don't worry, Jiraiya-jichan, I am on your side!"

No, he wasn't a pervert, not really, but male solidarity didn't allow Naruto just stand beside while his former sensei would have been hopeless outmatched two to one. And besides, Naruto was forced to admit that he rather liked what he was seeing. Now he was itching to see how much Sakura "grown" since he last spied on her over four years ago. Well, he will find it out soon enough…

* * *

**An hour later…**

"Ano, don't you think that it has gone far enough, Tsunade-sensei?" Sakura asked weakly, starring into her hand as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"No, no, no, we have only started!" Came Tsunade's much more cheerful reply, "You haven't seen anything yet, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura blushed bright red at Tsunade's last sentence.

The reason behind Sakura's embarrassment was plain to see, for while Tsunade was back to her clothes, their opponents' appearance was far less decent: both Naruto and Jiraiya were already out of their shirts, undershirts, boots and socks. As of now, Naruto still kept his pants on. Jiraiya didn't.

Luckily for Sakura, Tsunade last sentence also turned out to be the last blow Jiraiya's pride was able to take, and with a shout "It is not fair! I can't take it anymore!" he hastily ran out of the room in nothing but his underpants.

With the game between the four of them clearly ended with Jiraiya's hasty departure, Naruto took this as an opportunity to begin collecting and putting on the pieces of clothes he lost during this game; he wasn't all that self-conscious about somebody, particularly Sakura-chan, seeing him in the state of undress he was currently in, but it all had its limits.

Making a point of not looking in Naruto's direction, Sakura meanwhile asked a question she wanted to ask ever since she first saw Tsunade and Jiraiya in Shizune Sou, "Ano, anyway, Tsunade-sensei, why are you and Jiraiya-san here? I thought you sent me here to live on my own."

"Well, I did, but then, when I accidentally mentioned to Jiraiya that you are moving to Tokyo, he decided to come here as well; to check on you, or so he said. And naturally, I had to follow him; with Shizune busy most of the time, I couldn't let you live with two perverts…"

"I am not a pervert!" Naruto called out as he was putting his shirt on, but Tsunade paid him no attention.

"…Could, I?" Tsunade finished.

"_Who will have to watch over who is a question though,"_ Sakura thought, _"And I feel like I already know the answer."_

Tsunade was anything but stupid, but her passion for any kind of gambling coupled with her impulsiveness and hot temperament made it relatively easy for somebody like Jiraiya to trick her into various questionable activities, like today's strip poker game.

It wasn't that Sakura minded Tsunade's company or the show of concern on her part, far from it. It was just that Tsunade's following Jiraiya was more likely to further complicate Sakura's life then not. And that to top it all, it was merely an addition to today's troubles in school and uncertainty in her relations with that Yamanaka Ino girl.

Sakura sighed.

"_The only good thing about this situation,"_ she thought resignedly, _"Is that things just can't get any more complicated… Can they?.."_

* * *

**The next morning…**

Although most people were still sleeping in their beds at the time as early as this, the trio who were sometimes called behind their backs as the likeminded of the Five were already in the middle of their morning fighting practice. Although at this precise moment, they were making one of their short breaks…

"I still can't believe this!" A brown-haired teenage girl said with a hint of anger in her voice as she was wiping dirt off one of her throwing knives, "Yamanaka Ino, one of Konoha's Five, picks a fight with some newly transferred girl, and looses to boot! It's a disgrace! Yamanaka Ino is unreliable and irresponsible, plain and simple!"

"Enough, Tenten," one of the brown-haired teenage girl's friends, who was in fact none other but Hyuuga Neji, said, "It is true that Yamanaka Ino can be a little irresponsible at the times, but all in all, she is an excellent fighter and she is definitely an asset to Konoha High School and the Five. And also, she is much smarter the she lets it show, and I am not sure if what she did yesterday was done on a whim. Remember, Yamanaka Ino is rather close to…"

"I know, I know," Tenten didn't wait for him to finish, "But still, we of the Five have a reputation to maintain, and things like that don't help it in the least." Tenten paused, then looked at her other friend who was uncharacteristically quiet today and asked, "Hey, what do you think, Lee? You are uncharacteristically quiet today."

For a few seconds, the mentioned person, another teenage boy with shiny black hair and dark eyes didn't reply; instead he was just looking ahead of him, almost as though he didn't hear Tenten's question. And when he finally spoke, it had nothing to do with the question Tenten asked.

"A girl who could defeat Yamanaka Ino?"

Both Neji and Tenten visibly cringed when they heard this, and for a good reason too: as Lee spoke, his eyes had a certain gleam about them, which indicated that their friend was likely going to prove that Ino isn't so irresponsible after all. In comparison, that is.

Author's notes:

Some of you have probably noticed, that although Sakura's fight with Ino technically ended in a tie (they both ended knocking each other out, just as they did during their fight during the Chunin Exam in the original Naruto animated series), about everyone talks about Sakura defeating Ino or Ino losing to Sakura. This is because Ino is a renowned fighter in Konoha High School and one of the Five, while Sakura is an unknown newcomer, and because of it, Sakura's ability to end her fight with Ino in a tie is viewed as a victory for Sakura and a defeat for Ino.


	5. Chapter Five

Author's notes:

First of all, I would like to apologize before my readers for taking so long with writing this chapter of this story of mine. I had a major author block with this story of mine; to tell the truth, I have only parts of it thought-out, and I have somewhat vague idea about what will happen in the other parts. And unfortunately, in case of this particular chapter, I wasn't sure what to write about (although I had an idea about what I wanted to happen, even if only in general terms), that is why it took me so long to write this chapter of this story of mine. I can only hope that those few readers who are reading this story of mine will forgive me for such a huge delay with it. Either way, I will likely update this story of mine on more regular basis now, and I hope that at least some people will continue reading and reviewing it.

And as usual, before starting this chapter of this story of mine, I would like to thank **Jovianwolfgirl**, **Sakira-chan** and **fruitsbasketangel** for reviewing the previous chapter of this story of mine. Domo arigato gozaimasu, thank you very much! If not for your reviews, I would have probably just abandoned this story of mine.

And finally, I after giving this story of mine and the direction it will be going to some more thinking, I decided to have more romance elements in it then I originally intended, so this story can now be considered as Action/Adventure/Romance story (although it will still be more about action/fighting then about romance). Currently, I have three major pairings planned, two involving Sakura and Ino respectively (I won't reveal who they will "end" with just yet, but be prepared for SURPIRSES!), and the third involving Rock Lee and a certain character from Ikki Tousen. And speaking of Lee, to answer one of your questions, **Jovianwolfgirl**, Lee will indeed have a crush on Sakura at first, but he won't "end" with her. However, I like Lee very much, and so I felt that he deserves to end with a girl who is every bit as cool and awesome as Sakura (but in a VERY different way), not to mention that she is beautiful kick-ass fighter.

Alright, and now without further ado, let's get to…

**Chapter ****Five**

The bell rang, signaling the end of the current lesson, and Sakura quickly jumped out of the classroom, hesitating only long enough to let the main mass of the students rush through the doorway; the day has began far too well for her to end getting crushed by a crowd. Sakura, of course, intended to look for Sasuke.

She saw him leaving the classroom the first, and was about to chase after him right away, but as soon as the class' undisputed leader has passed, most of the other students rushed out of the classroom as well, forcing Sakura to either wait for them to go through the doorway, or to try to force her way through them. Sakura choose the first option.

But now the way was clear, and Sakura happily ran out of the classroom. Today, nobody will stand in the way of her introduction to Sasuke, which will doubtless quickly blossom into True Love! Now where is..?

"Aha!"

Sakura could help exclaiming when she spotted Sasuke leaning against a wall next to a vending machine, with a can of Coca Cola in his hand. All by himself! It was as perfect an opportunity as Sakura could dream of, and Sakura immediately rushed to him through the corridor, forgetting all her manners… And almost bumping into another boy who suddenly walked out of one of the side corridors.

In other circumstances, Sakura would just crush into him head on, with both of them almost assuredly ending on the floor to all the other students' amusement, but luckily, two strong hands gently stopped her before any harm could be done to either of them. The whole situation caused Sakura to blush bright red with embarrassment; seriously, what was she thinking about, running through a students-filled corridor like this?!

"Ano… Honto gomen nasai, I am really very sorry…"

"You are Haruno Sakura-san, I believe?"

"Huh?" Surprised, Sakura looked up at the slightly older boy she almost crushed into, wincing mentally; although her mind was almost completely set on Sasuke alone at the moment, she could almost imagine almost bumping into a strong and handsome young prince… Or, at least, into a strong and handsome high school student, say, somebody like a certain Hyuuga Neji…

But unfortunately, reality had nothing to do with her dreams, and the boy she almost bumped into was…

_"Well, not too ugly, all in all,"_ Sakura admitted to herself; after all, the boy had muscular body of a fighter, and his tight green jumpsuit outlined all his muscles enough to make Sakura's blush deepen further, _"But there is something weird about his face, and those eyebrows… Ugh! They look almost as two thick black centipedes!"_

Sakura made a small step away from the boy, although she hoped that she wasn't being too obvious when she was doing that and that he thoughts weren't written on her face either. But what concerned her far more was…

Sakura cast a quick glance past the boy; yes, her Sasuke-kun was still there, apparently paying no attention to her involuntary encounter with the thick-eyebrowed boy. Well, then she could probably give her at least a bit of her time…

"Yes, I am Haruno Sakura. But what do you..?"

"A pleasure to meet you, Sakura-san." The boy didn't seem to be hearing anything past her name. "I am Rock Lee, one of Konoha's five greatest fighters…"

_"He is one of the Five as well?!"_ Sakura thought with surprise, but what the boy said next shocked her even more.

"…Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Wh-what?!"

Sakura was never a popular girl in her old school, and in fact, never had a boyfriend before, so she was completely unprepared to being proposed to out of the blue like this. In fact, she found herself almost considering saying "yes"… _"He isn't such a bad-looking guy, all in all, and he says that he is one of Konoha's five strongest fighters!"_ …Almost.

"Sorry, but I am already destined to another. Ja ne."

Sakura completely missed the crushed expression on Lee's face, as she stepped around him and quickly covered the remaining distance between herself and Sasuke. But once she finally stood before Sasuke, Sakura suddenly found all he determination disappearing somewhere; there was something about his piercing dark eyes that made Sakura feel almost as though he was looking through her body and into her very mind that made Sakura involuntary shiver.

"Hm… Do you want something?"

"Ano… Ano, I wanted… Ano… I mean, I am S-sakura. Haruno Sakura." Sakura managed to squeeze out of herself.

"And?"

Sakura was in complete loss; she has never tried to pick up a guy ever before… _"And aren't guys supposed to be the ones to pick up girls and not the vice versa, anyway?"_ …So, she didn't even know what to begin.

_"Except for… What if..?"_

"Ano… I-I w-would l-like to… I-I mean, w-would… w-would you..? Wouldyouliketobemyboyfriend??"

The next few moments were painfully long for Sakura, as Sasuke was just silently looking at her. Then…

"You are annoying."

He turned away. As simple as that. Sakura was completely crushed; she wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it was certainly nothing like that.

"Hey, Uchiha! Don't you dare to say such things to Sakura-san!"

Both Sakura and Sasuke turned to the sound of the voice, to see Rock Lee, who seemed to all but recover from the blow Sakura had dealt to him earlier, coming closer.

"I understand now that it is you that Sakura-san loves." Lee said, with his eyes fixed on Sasuke, "In that case… I will fight with you for Sakura-san's love!"

This remark made previously calm Sasuke grit his teeth in anger, "Don't you have anything better to do, Rock?"

"No," Lee's response was like him: simple and to the point, "But of course, if you are afraid to fight me, all you have to do is to admit your defeat and apologize to Sakura-san, and I will forgive your rude behaviour towards her."

There was, however, only one way any self-respecting fighter could respond to this.

"Bring it on, Rock!"

"Hold on, both of you…" Sakura started hesitantly, but neither Sasuke nor Lee paid her any attention, and Sakura quickly made some distance from them; in the state the both of them were currently in, Sakura figured that they could accidentally hit her if she stayed too close to their fight, let alone tried to interfere with it.

But what happened next took Sakura completely by surprise: at the same moment, as if on cue, both boys assumed completely identical fighting stance.

"No way… The practice the same fighting style?"

"Not exactly."

"Huh?"

Sakura turned to the sound of a new voice, to see a brown-haired girl in light pink Chinese-style shirt and black shorts standing beside her.

"Ano… Who are you?"

"Oh, sorry for not introducing myself," The brown-haired girl said cheerfully, "I am Tenten, also of Konoha's Five."

_"Another of the Five?"_ Sakura thought, no longer surprised; it seemed like no matter what she did, she seemed to be destined to constantly run into the Big Five, _"So, the Five are: Sasuke-kun, that Yamanaka girl, Lee-san, Hyuuga Neji and this girl, Tenten?"_

"Anyway, I was saying," Tenten continued meanwhile, "That it's not that Sasuke and Lee-san practice the same fighting style. The thing is that Sasuke practices so-called "Sharingan" fighting style."

"Sharingan? Copy Wheel Eye?" Sakura asked aloud.

"Yes, that's how it is translated." Tenten confirmed, "The essence of this fighting style is a careful observation of all your opponent's movements and copying them, so, in effect, Sasuke is able to copy the fighting style of whoever he is fighting with. This is a very powerful technique: not only does it often confuse your opponent and take him or her off-guard, but also, fighting against yourself is always the hardest. However…"

Tenten's speech was interrupted by a sound of a body hitting a wall, and as Sakura turned to see Sasuke slumping down the wall to one-knee, with a streamlet of blood running from the side of his mouth, even as Lee stood triumphantly a few meters away from him.

"Your copycat style is of no good against me. You can copy my movements as much as you like, but you will always lose to me in strength and speed; these things can only be achieved through hard work, and no dirty tricks will make up for it."

But Sasuke was not done yet.

"Well, in that case…" Sasuke said through clenched teeth, "…I'll show you something that is not a copy!"

Before anyone could even see it coming, Sasuke pushed himself off the floor with all his strength, leaping at Lee with lightning speed, and before Lee could react, slamming his open palm into Lee's chest. Further enhanced by the speed of Sasuke's attack, the force of the blow was such that it threw Lee across the corridor and slammed him against the opposite wall hard, hard enough to leave a large dent in it. But where a lesser man would have certainly lost consciousness, Lee didn't even lose his balance, and the next moment he calmly stepped away from the wall into Sasuke's direction.

"I have to admit that you are making a progress, Uchiha…"

Sasuke charged at Lee again, but this time Lee was ready for his attack, and Sasuke's blow met nothing by empty air. And the next moment, Lee's fist slammed into Sasuke's abdomen hard. Sasuke tried to turn to counterattack, but before he even turned to face Lee, Lee was already behind him, slamming his elbow into Sasuke's back hard and throwing him against the wall, face first. Sasuke didn't even begin to recover from the blow when Lee grabbed him by his clothes and jerked him away from the wall, only to apply a powerful upper-cut to his jaw. And this time, it was Sasuke who flew across the corridor, falling on his back to the floor, where he remained lying stunned for a few seconds.

"…But it is not enough to beat me." Lee finished what he was saying earlier.

"Damn you, Rock!" Sasuke swore through clenched teeth, "I'll beat you some day!"

But Lee paid beaten Sasuke no attention, instead turning to Sakura once again.

"So, Sakura-san, will you be my girlfriend now?"

Sakura was horrified.

_"He did all of this, caused Sasuke-kun so much pain just to impress me? No…"_

"No way… Never!"

Sakura almost rushed to Sasuke to see if he was in need of any help, but in the last moment caught a hate-filled look in his eyes as he slowly got up, and was taken aback. No longer sure how much she was in love with Sasuke now, when she saw less-then-perfect sides of him, Sakura just sighed resignedly and headed back to her class…

* * *

**This evening****…**

Lee sighed sadly, as he was looking at the small inn where he knew Sakura was staying.

He knew that it probably made him a bit of stalker, secretly following Sakura from school to where she was staying, but there was nothing he could do about it: despite her very determined refusal, Lee was still hopelessly in love with adorable, and by all accounts very strong pink-haired girl.

Right now, he was standing in a small park up on the hill, from where he was getting a good view of Shizune Sou, but little else…

**(Flashback)**

"So, Sakura-san, will you be my girlfriend now?"

"No way… Never!"

**(/Flashback)**

_"But she couldn't really mean that, could she?! If only I could… That's right!"_ Suddenly Lee knew what he had to do, "The next time I fight, I'll beat somebody at least twice as strong as Sasuke, I swear it!"

And as if on cue, Lee suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs that led to park he was in…


	6. Chapter Six

Author's notes:

Before starting this chapter of this story of mine, I would like to thank all those wonderful people who reviewed the previous chapter of this story of mine, namely: **Jovianwolfgirl**, **Kawaii IceCream**, **Gene Kamiken**, **himiko231** and **narusakufan**. Domo arigato gozaimasu, thank you very much!

In particular, thank you very much for continuing reading and reviewing this story of mine since the second chapter of it, **Jovianwolfgirl**! I am very happy that you enjoy reading this story of mine so much, and I will try to keep updating it as often as possible.

And in regard of your question, Jovianwolfgirl, this story's storyline will be going in parallel with Ikki Tousen's storyline. I.e. this story will mostly focus on Konoha High School, Sakura and other characters from Naruto animated series, but at the same time, events involving Nanyou Institute, Hakufu and other characters from Ikki Tousen animated series will be going on "behind the scenes" (at least, for the most part); in some cases – unchanged, in others – altered to a smaller or greater degree. However, in regard of Sakura and Konoha's story, I will also draw some story elements for it from Ikki Tousen's storyline, so if you have seen Ikki Tousen animated series, some of this story's main storyline's elements will likely look familiar to you as well, and I am sorry about it. And also, needless to say, characters from Ikki Tousen and Naruto will come in contact on more then one occasion, in these cases, events from original Ikki Tousen storyline will be in particular subject to a change. And by the way, you will be able to see how I am planning to integrate this story's and Ikki Tousen's storylines in this chapter of this story of mine.

All in all, this story is intended for Naruto's fans, and like I said in the summary will mostly focus on characters from Naruto, and therefore, doesn't require readers to watch Ikki Tousen animated series in order to understand and enjoy this story of mine. But if you have seen Ikki Tousen animated series, you will also be able to get a glimpse (and in case with some characters – more then a glimpse) of your favorite characters from Ikki Tousen, I can promise you that much.

However, I am sorry, **IC-chan** (I hope that you won't mind if I call you so, ne?), but I must say that like I mentioned in one of the earlier chapters of this story of mine, this isn't a Sakura/Sasuke story. I would still appreciate it if you continued to read and review this story of mine, particularly since Sasuke will play a significant part in this and some of the future chapters of it, but… The choice is yours. (But at least, I hope that you won't stop reading my "The Path of Her Own" fanfictional story, which I will definitely update sooner or later; I think you will find pairings in there more for your liking.)

And finally,** Gene Kamiken**, I have to say that Naruto won't be "Kyubi good" fighter in this story of mine. He will still be above-the-average fighter, particularly notable for his endurance and stamina, but he won't be an equal in strength, speed and skill to some of the other fighters (like Sakura and Konoha's Five, for instance). However, Naruto will have at least one good moment in this story of mine, and if I ever write a sequel to it (which I am currently planning to do), I am planning to have Naruto improve significantly by then, probably even to the point of performing Rasengan-like attacks.

Alright, and now without further ado, let's get to…

**Chapter Six**

As Lee turned to the sound of the footsteps, his eyes immediately fell upon a tan-skinned giant of a man, well over six feet tall, who has just walked into the park. The giant, on the other hand, seemed to pay Lee no attention, as he was apparently lost in his own thoughts. But while Lee usually wasn't the one to pick up a fight without any reason, this case was different, because Lee immediately recognized the man destiny brought him together with.

"You are Gakushu-san from Nanyou, aren't you?"

"Huh?" The larger man looked down a Lee; although Lee was of average height, this man towered over him as he did over most other people, "Yes, I am he. Is there anything you want?"

"Yes," Lee's eyes had almost unnatural gleam about them as he was speaking, "I have always wanted to fight someone like you."

"Well, you know who I am… Are you sure that fighting me is a good idea?" Though the larger man's face didn't betray his feelings, he had a slightly patronizing voice as he spoke, which was enough to drive Lee, who was already heart-broken by Sakura's refusal, closer to the edge.

"Don't underestimate me!"

"Try to hit me first, and then say it again."

Lee didn't had to be asked twice, he immediately charged at the larger man, striking a powerful blow hat his abdomen and… Suddenly froze. Gakushu stopped his fist with but a finger.

Before Lee recovered from his surprise, Gakushu grabbed the arm Lee struck him with and threw Lee into air, but the moment Lee was in the air, Gakushu followed up with striking Lee with an open palm while Lee was in the air. The effect was almost as though Gakushu's hand was a tennis racket and Lee was a ball: Lee flew across the park where he slammed into the ground hard.

"This blow was just for the show." Gakushu commented impassively, "So, did you have enough?"

"Not yet." To Gakushu's surprise, Lee was on his feet in but a moment, with his eyes still shining and a smile appearing on his face, "Though I must say that it's been a while since I fought someone I wouldn't have to hold back against."

And Lee's hands moved to remove the weights he was wearing on his arms and legs.

"If you think that removing a little weight is going to help you…" Gakushu began, but the next moment went quiet as the earth beneath his feet quaked. It was Lee's weights falling to the ground.

"It looks like I will have to take you more seriously. What is your name?"

"Rock Lee from Konoha High School, 2nd year." Lee replied, stepping forward while he adjusted to sudden lightness, it has been a while since he removed his weights.

"I am, as you know, Gakushu from Nanyou Institute, 2nd year." Gakushu introduced himself to his opponent with newfound respect for him. "Let's do it."

Once again, Lee didn't had to be asked twice, but this time his movements were almost too fast for the eye to follow them as he charged at Gakushu. This time Gakushu struck the first blow, but hit nothing but air even as Lee's fist hit him in his right side. Gakushu turned around to face Lee, but Lee already moved to strike him from a different spot, and Gakushu suddenly found himself all but helpless before his opponent. He was much stronger then Lee, and also much faster then he looked, but Lee was faster still, and he moved before Gakushu could even face him, let alone try to hit him. And while the blows that Lee kept raining upon him were bearable for now, Gakushu knew that even he wouldn't be able to hold out like this forever.

But then, Lee suddenly made a mistake of jumping backwards to gain more momentum for his next blow, opening up for just a moment. But a moment was all that the experienced fighter like Gakushu needed.

But as Gakushu raised his hand for a blow, a terrible pain suddenly shot through his left side, completely paralyzing him for a few seconds. It wasn't due to one of Lee's earlier attacks, and to his growing horror, Gakushu recognized the spot that was hurting and why it was hurting in the first place. But…

"_No way. That girl's kick was that of an amateur, how can it still hurt..?"_

Too late Gakushu recovered from both his pain and thoughts: Lee's fist was already going towards his face with all strength Lee could muster… But before the blow was struck, Lee's fist stopped in the air. Or, more precisely, it was stopped, to both combatants' surprise.

Lee in particular followed a more slender but obviously strong hand that held his with his eyes, until he found himself looking into a beautiful, but cold face of a blue-haired girl, one of whose eyes was green, and another was covered with a white eye-patch, which, combined with a cold look upon her face made her look more threatening then beautiful.

"_Only a girl..?"_

Lee tried to jerk his hand away from the blue-haired girl's grip, but with surprise realized that he couldn't: the blue-haired girl's grip was too strong even for him to break.

"_No way! She cannot be stronger then…"_

Suddenly, the girl was gone, and the next thing Lee felt a painful jerk as both of his hands were bound in what felt like handcuffs and painfully pinned behind his back. At the same moment, one of the girl's legs wound around his neck, while another painfully dug into his back, and one of her arms wound around his legs, holding them in place.

With sudden embarrassment, Lee realized that the blue-haired must have attached herself to him upside down in order the restrain him this way, making their relative positions VERY suggestive to anyone who may be looking at them right now. But Lee's embarrassment was almost immediately replaced with a growing horror: their relative positions also left him completely helpless as he couldn't move either his arms or legs no matter how much he tried, which completely left him in the mercy of the blue-haired girl. Of which, it seemed, she had none.

Lee barely held back from crying out as the blue-haired dug the heel of her boot into his back with even more force, at the same time pulling his hands further back, until her efforts were rewarded with a crunching sound of Lee's arms being dislodged from their joints. The next moment the blue-haired girl unlocked the handcuffs around Lee's now-useless arms, letting them fall free, and released the hold on his neck as well, but only to drive both her feet into Lee's back with all her strength the very next moment, releasing the hold on his legs at the same time. This sent Lee into air with even more force the Gakushu's blow, and by now barely-conscious Lee never saw the stone edge of a nearby fountain coming to meet him as he fell back towards the ground.

The force of their collision was such that it left a large crack in the fountain's stone edge. Water spilled through the crack, mixing with the blood of now-unconscious Lee, who remained lying by the fountain; his white Magatama, a soul stone that Lee used to wear as an earring broke off, rolling over the ground…

Meanwhile, the blue-haired girl landed gracefully on her feet, and looked at her larger classmate with an air of superiority around her.

"This is how it should have been done."

"I didn't ask you to help me, Ryomou."

Although Gakushu fully realized that if it wasn't for the blue-haired girl's intervention, he would have been beaten bloody, if not worse, there was nevertheless noticeable annoyance in his voice. And he was forced to admit, if only to himself, that deep inside he felt a certain tension as well, with Ryomou facing him like that…

"Oh, I know, after all… You are a masochist, aren't you, Gakushu," The blue-haired girl whose name was Ryomou suddenly smiled as she spoke, and they way she did it could only be described as sadistic, "But still, it doesn't become one of Nanyou's Four to get beaten by some second-rate fighter from Konoha… Let alone get weak at the mere mention of a name."

With that said, Ryomou began to slowly walk towards Gakushu, with handcuffs in her right hand jingling ever so slightly, and one didn't have to know her as well as Gakushu did to guess what her intent was. And even though Gakushu towered over Ryomou like he did over most other people, he just barely managed to hold himself from taking a step back as Ryomou continued to slowly advance towards him… But there was nothing he could do about a noticeable bead of sweat running down the side of his face.

"You are strong, Ryomou, but some day you will face Her and then you will know the same fear I feel now."

"Oh, really?" Ryomou's sadistic smile grew only wider at Gakushu's words as she continued to advance towards him. "I can't wait for that to happen…"

* * *

**The next morning…**

"Naruto, hurry up! We are late, AGAIN! And again, all because you overslept!"

"I'm coming, Sakura-chan! Just a moment!.."

Tapping her foot impatiently, Sakura waited for her childhood friend to run out of Shizune Sou, before rushing off to school, followed closely by Naruto. It was her third day in Konoha High School, and the third time she was late for her classes. And of course, all three times it was Naruto's fault: first he got into a fight instead of coming to meet her like he promised he would, the next day he overslept, forcing Sakura to wake him up and ending with both of them being late for school, and today… He overslept again.

But despite her determination not to be late for school again, Sakura couldn't help slowing down as she and Naruto ran into a small that was on their way to Konoha.

"What has happened there?" Sakura wondered aloud.

Indeed, the previously neat park looked completely battered, with a few dents in the ground, and half-flooded by the water from now-broken fountain. It looked almost as though a small local war was fought here. Or rather…

As Sakura and Naruto were looking around, Sakura's sandaled food suddenly caught on something, and as Sakura bent and picked up a small comma-shaped white object with a crack running along its side, she immediately recognized it for what it was.

"_A __Magatama! The fighters must have fought here…"_

"Come here, Sakura-chan! I think there is somebody lying on the other side of the fountain!"

Together, Naruto and Sakura ran around the fountain, only to stop dead on spot and they saw and recognized unconscious body lying there.

"No way! This is Rock Lee, of Konoha's Big Five!"

"L-Lee-san…Naruto, go call the ambulance quickly!"

* * *

The room beside which Sakura and Naruto sat waiting was clearly labeled as "No Visitors", yet it eventually opened, and two teenagers, a boy and a girl went out; to some people rules simply didn't apply, and these two were among them. The boy and the girl were none other then Hyuuga Neji and Tenten, two of Konoha's five strongest fighters.

"So, how is he?" Sakura asked immediately; due to the gravity of the situation, she seemed to have all but lost all her awe before the members of the Five.

"Lee is strong, and he will recover for sure." It was Tenten who answered Sakura's question, "But both his arms were dislodged out of their joints… I'm afraid that he will be in no condition to fight for at least a week, maybe even a few."

"I see, well…" Sakura reached into her pocket, producing Lee's cracked soul stone out of it and handing it too Neji and Tenten, "I believe this is his…"

"Hm…" This time, it was Neji who took Lee's soul stone and studied it carefully, before adding quietly, mostly to himself, "In the Ancient Chine, a general named Lee Rok was to lead one of the regiments against Hun tribes. But in spite of all the hopes pinned on him, he died in a minor border skirmish with a nearby province before the major campaign against Hun tribes even started."

"What?" Sakura asked, as she wasn't able to make out what Neji has just said.

"Nothing. I just want to thank two of you for the service you have done to one of Konoha's Five, though it is no less then I would expect from Konoha's fighters. Now, the two of you are free for the rest of the day; don't worry, I will make sure your teacher and the principal know about it."

Neji started to walk away, followed by Tenten, when Sakura called him again.

"W-wait! Did you find out who did this to Lee?"

"Hm…" Neji turned around to face Sakura once again, "I've heard that some fighters from Nanyou were seen in that area. Until Lee wakes up, we cannot be sure exactly what has happened there, but I wouldn't rule out that Lee was the one who started the trouble this time, he was acting stranger then usual lately."

"Lee started this?" Sakura asked in surprise, but then she remembered how Lee picked up a fight with Sasuke the other day…

"Like I said, this is a possibility. But until we find out what exactly has happened there for sure, I don't want anybody to think that they can take it upon themselves to get revenge for what has happened with Lee. Is that understood?"

"Yes!" Sakura and Naruto said in unison.

"Good. Nanyou Institute has few particularly renowned fighters, but nevertheless, some of them are renowned for their strength and skill. And right now, Konoha has other things to worry about then going to an all-out war with Nanyou."

With that said, Neji and Tenten once again turned around and walked away… And neither of the four noticed a dark figure the stood behind the corner all along, listening to every word said.

"_How pathetic…"_

* * *

**This evening…**

A small wicked smile appeared on the blond-haired girl's lips, as she stood before the apartment's door, which would be locked, of course. What she was going to was, for all intents and purposes, breaking and entering, but then again, it wasn't the first time she did this and it certainly won't be the last. As antisocial as her Sasuke-kun was, it took extraordinary measures just to spend a little time with him. Sasuke, of course, didn't appreciate her visits, of which his constantly-locked front spoke volumes, but over years, she got used to his attitude… Although she still didn't really understand, why she, Yamanaka Ino, the most sought-after girl in Konoha High School and one of its five greatest fighters was so hopelessly in love with her fellow fighter, Uchiha Sasuke.

"_But perhaps it is destiny, after all,"_ Ino thought with a small smile upon his lips, as she put he hand upon the door's handle and giving it a twist, just to be sure that everything is still the same… And immediately, the simple disappeared from Ino's face: the door was open.

With a foreboding feeling, Ino opened the door and walked into Sasuke's apartment, which she wasn't surprised to find empty. And as Ino was looking around it, her eyes suddenly fell upon a book that lay open up the table. Having a feeling that she knew what she would see in it, Ino came closer and began to read the page that was opened…

"…_And so, in the heart of battle, Konoha's general Cao Kin faced Hun war chief, Ga Ray. __But no matter how hard Cao Kin fought, none of his attacks found its target, and before long, Cao Kin fell, with Ga Ray standing triumphantly over him, with his blade held high for the final blow. Cao Kin's fate seemed to be sealed, but then, one of his warriors…"_

The rest of the page was torn out.

"No way!.."

* * *

As usually, her friend kept to the shadows that all but completely concealed him, but it was the part of his personality that Ino was used to. But there was another part of his personality that Ino, in fact, wasn't used to, and most likely, never will.

"So?!" Ino asked impatiently, as she stood before her friend, tapping her foot.

The boy Ino was talking to sighed resignedly; it was one piece of information he didn't want to share with Ino, but she was not a kind of person you could refuse easily.

"I received the word from the school's principal today. Sasuke resigned from Konoha High School and got transferred into Rakuyou High School instead."

"Why?! Why would he do that to us, to me?!"

But deep inside, Ino knew why, though it didn't mean that she liked it or even agreed with his reasons.

"That's it! I am going after him!"

Her companion sighed again. He didn't want to bring up the subject of destiny, in which he didn't believe, but it seemed to be his only chance with Ino.

"Ino, " He began gently, "If you indeed believe in destiny like you claim you do, you will fail, and in the end…"

"No, I won't!" Ino sounded even more determined then ever before, "We need Uchiha Sasuke, one of Konoha's Five for what is to come! Without him…"

Ino paused; she just didn't know what would happen.

"It is true," her companion said meanwhile, "But we also need Yamanaka Ino, one of the best fighters Konoha has to offer and my most trusted advisor."

Ino's companion paused, and then…

"I don't want to lose you, Ino…"

"You won't!" Despite the situation, Ino flashed her companion a smile, "I am Yamanaka Ino, one of Konoha's five greatest fighters, you said it yourself. Whatever happens, I will come back to you, I promise!"

* * *

The sun was moving closer to the horizon, which only added to the dark environment around him, but it did nothing to weaken Sasuke's resolve. In fact, it suited Sasuke's mood so well that he couldn't help liking it, and there were few enough things that he liked.

Right now Sasuke stood before a long stairway leading up the hill, with a wooden arch at its' base. The inscription upon the arch said:

**Rakuyou High School**

And as he read the inscription, Sasuke suddenly felt more at home then throughout all the years he was studying in Konoha. But as Sasuke walked towards the staircase, a single figure went to meet him. The figure was that of a girl, and she was not from Rakuyou.

"Ino. What do you think you are doing here?"

"I have come to bring you back, Sasuke-kun. Konoha needs you, and I need you most of all."

"Ino…" For a moment, Sasuke looked surprised and lost, but the confused expression upon his face was replaced with that of anger, "And what exactly give you right to "bring me back", as you put it? I have chosen my destiny, and I will not have you standing in my way any longer; you have annoyed me throughout the years I was studying in Konoha more then enough."

"Chosen your destiny?" Ino asked teasingly, "Perhaps you rather mean choosing to blindly follow it?"

"No." Sasuke's reply was cold as ice, "You and other weaklings like you may wait for your destiny to catch up with you as long as you like, but I know better. I know that… Sometimes destiny should be hurried. Try to stop me, if you dare, but you are no match for me, and we both know it!"

"Sasuke-kun…" For a moment Ino lowered her head, before looking up at Sasuke with determination in her eyes, "I will bring you back, no matter what!"

**(Musical fill-in – Beautiful)**

_m__e wo tojiru mae ni sukoshi dake omoidasu tooi kioku_

_d__okoka de mita you na keshiki mo yume no naka tokedashiteku_

_itsuka kimi to __aruita michi wo tadotte miru On my way_

_kitto wakaru __hoshizora ha eien no chikai_

_You just call my name __dareka ga kitto_

_kimi wo mitsukedasu __sonna hi ha_

_I know beautiful one day_

_k__agayaite_

_I don't want to be left behind_

_Why do I feel so alone_

_sasayakikakeru no ai no uta __chiisaku tsubuyaku dake de_

_y__asashii kimochi ga tazuneru donna hi mo wasurenaide_

_anata to nara hanarete itemo wakariaeru T__ell me why_

_te wo nobashite __hateshinai hoshizora no shita de_

_Shooting shiny star __hirogatte yuku_

_hajimari ha itsumo __kono basho de_

_When I look into you eyes_

_s__oba ni ite_

_'C__os I just want you by my side_

_Make me smile night and day_

_You just call my name __dareka ga kitto_

_kimi wo mitsukedasu __sonna hi ha_

_I know beautiful one day_

_k__agayaite_

_I don't want to be left behind_

_Why do I feel so alone_

_Shooting shiny star __hirogatte yuku_

_hajimari ha itsumo __kono basho de_

_When I look into you eyes_

_s__oba ni ite_

_'C__os I just want you by my side_

_Make me smile night and day_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Before I close my eyes, inside my dream, I'm starting to melt the scenery_

_That seems like I've it seen before and the distant memory I recall just a little_

_I try to follow the path I walked with you before on my way_

_I'll surely understand that the starry sky is an eternal vow_

_On such a day when you just call my name_

_And someone will surely locate you,_

_I know beautiful one day_

_Shining_

_I don't want to be left behind_

_Why do I feel so alone_

_No matter what day it is, don't forget that gentle feelings will visit_

_By just softly mumbling a love song that you start to whisper_

_Tell me why, if I'm with you, even if we're separated, we can understand each other_

_Stretching our hands underneath the endless starry sky_

_A shooting shiny star is spreading_

_Its beginning is always at this place_

_When I look into your eyes_

_Near you_

'_Cause I just want you to be by my side_

_Make me smile night and day_

_On such a day when you just call my name_

_And someone will surely locate you,_

_I know beautiful one day_

_Shining_

_I don't want to be left behind_

_Why do I feel so alone_

_A shooting shiny star is spreading_

_Its beginning is always at this place_

_When I look into your eyes_

_Near you_

'_Cause I just want you to be by my side_

_Make me smile night and day_

**(/Musical fill-in)**

With a tingle of regret, Sasuke was looking down at Ino's motionless body that was spread before him. She was better then he expected, he was forced to give her that much, but against him, Uchiha Sasuke, she didn't have even a chance. But for some reason, Sasuke couldn't help feeling sorry that it had to end like this…

* * *

"I have been waiting for you, Sasuke-kun," A brown-haired teenage boy said, looking up at Sasuke.

He was lying in a greenhouse, surrounded by flowers and watermelons – about the last place where Sasuke expected for a renowned fighter and the leader of Rakuyou High School to be. But nevertheless, the boy's arms and legs were heavily bandaged, suggesting that he didn't spend all his days like this, but trained daily as well, probably no less then Rock Lee did.

"By the way, I've heard there was some fuss on Rakuyou's borders a while earlier, you know anything about it?"

"One of Konoha's fighters thought she could stop me from getting my revenge. She has been dealt with accordingly. You know what I am here for."

"Yes, you decided to betray your former classmates, just for the sake of killing one man, like you were destined to do. But at the same time, you are not content with your destiny and want to change it, don't you? You know, you and I are alike in this regard… But still, I can't just rely on your word, you know, with you switching you allegiance like this…" Before even Sasuke's eyes could follow it, the boy hand was on his bare calf, "I will give you two weeks, Sasuke-kun, and then, we shall see… If I am still alive, that is."

The brown-haired boy's touch was lightest, but as he removed his hand, Sasuke could see a deep, hand-shaped bruise at where the brown-haired boy's hand touched his calf, and he was fully aware of the meaning of it.

"But as for now…" The brown-haired boy paused, and something gleamed in his hazel eyes, "…Yes, I think it's about time. Let's begin."

* * *

**Chengtu High School**

The classes were over, and two teenage girls walked out of the school's gate, chatting happily.

"…So, you're up for some paaartying today? I've stumbled upon one place the other days, and all the guys there are sooo cool!"

"Okay, count me in! But remember you promised that…"

Suddenly a cell phone rang.

"…Wait, I've got an SMS."

"Huh? Me too…"

* * *

**Suna Institute**

A teenage boy, with light green eyes, red hair and a red tattoo over his left eye lay upon his school's roof, thinking of nothing in particular. It wasn't the first night he would spend like this, as was evident from the dark spot around his eyes, and neither it would be the last; even though the boy was one of his school's strongest fighters, there were times when he couldn't help feeling that something was missing from his life, and recently it was happening more often then ever before. Even fighting and killing his opponents wasn't as sweet as it used to be: what was the point when you were the best, and you knew it?

Suddenly the boy's cell phone rang, bringing him out of his dark mood: there could be only one reason why someone would be ringing him up.

"Just about time I kill someone…"

* * *

**Seito Academy**

"Do we really have to stay here training until so late, Kanu-sama?"

A piercing glance from a beautiful teenage girl, whose black hair was so long that it reached to dojo's floor, nailed a teenage boy who presumed to ask this questions dead to his spot.

"You are Seito's fighters, and until our leader awakens, you are the ones who stand between Ryuubi Gentoku and our enemies. And when the time comes, you should be ready to defend our leader, with your lives, if necessary."

The black-haired girl's cell phone suddenly rang, and she had a feeling that she knew exactly what message she has received. Instead of picking up her cell phone, the girl named Kanu cast another glance at the fighters lined in front of her.

"_They are not ready, and most of them will never be. I have to be sure that __at least I am ready for what is to come, even if it may cost me my life."_

* * *

**Yoshuu Institute**

A particularly strong punch tore the punching bag off, making it fly across the training hall and evoking a smirk from a teenage boy in black jacket who was watching his bare-chested companion training.

"Heh, you did it again, Bunshuu. I just can't wait…"

As if on cue, the teenager's cell phone rang…

"Heh, looks like it's time, as if on cue. It's gonna be fun…"

* * *

All over the Tokyo, fighters' cell phones were ringing, and as the fighters opened their newly-received messages, they could see only three words:

**The Great Tournament**

* * *

Author's notes:

I hope you enjoyed this extra-long chapter of this story of mine, minna. As always, your reviews are most welcome, whether they are positive or not!

By the way, the song I used as a musical fill-in for this chapter of this story of mine (and which can be seen as Ino/Sasuke image song for this story of mine) is "Beautiful" by "Round Table", if want to hear what how it is sung (which I would highly recommend, by the way, it is a very sweet and beautiful song indeed), simply type "Furuba Slideshow – Beautiful" into Google's search engine and go to the first page displayed (the clip on YouTube).

And finally, for Lee's fans, don't worry. Although Lee won't show up for the next several chapters (like Tenten said, he won't be in condition to fight for a while), he is still far from being finished, and he will show up again in the later chapters of this story of mine, and will play significant part in them, and like I promised, will eventually develop romantic relations with a certain character from Ikki Tousen.


	7. Chapter Seven

Author's notes:

First of all, I would like to say sorry for a little longer-then-usual delay with this chapter of this story of mine; I was off to a two weeks-long vacation to Croatia, which somewhat delayed my writing.

And before starting this chapter of this story of mine, I would like to thank all those wonderful people who reviewed the previous chapter of this story of mine, namely: **Jovianwolfgirl**, **Kawaii IceCream**, **narusakufan**, **numberoneklutz**, **Sakira-chan** and **KibaSaku-4ever**. Domo arigato gozaimasu, thank you very much!

Again, thank you very much for continuing reading and reviewing this story of mine, **Jovianwolfgirl**! I am very happy that you liked this story of mine so far, and hope and this and future chapters of it won't leave you disappointed either.

**IC-chan**, like I said in my private message to you, I was very sorry to hear that you are going to stop reading this story of mine. But like I said in my address to you in the previous chapter of this story of mine, the choice is yours, even if it makes me rather sad.

**Sakira-chan**, I am very happy that you are still reading this story of mine; to be honest, I was worried that you might have lost interest in it (although I know that there was a HUGE delay between fourth and fifth chapters of it). Oh, and I must that from your review, I didn't get if you have actually seen Ikki Tousen or no, but I hope you will like characters from Ikki Tousen that will show up every now and then anyway! (Although like I promised, the focus of the story will be on Naruto characters.)

And last but not least, **KibaSaku-4ever**, I am very happy that you decided to give this story of mine a try too, and moreover, that you liked it (particularly since it will likely be some time before I update my "The Path of Her Own" story). I hope that this and the future chapters of it will be to your liking too!

Alright, and now without further ado, let's get to…

**Chapter S****even**

"The Great Tournament?" Sakura asked.

This afternoon, both she and Naruto received summons from "Konoha's Four", telling them to me with them at the school's backyard after the classes, and as they came there, they indeed met already familiar to them pair: Neji and Tenten.

"Yes," It was Hyuuga Neji who spoke, "I trust you know what it is, don't you?"

"Of course, I do! Do you think I am a complete id…"

A single glance from Neji was enough to make Naruto go quiet, as it suddenly occurred to him that Neji was speaking with Sakura, not him.

"Well, Haruno-kun?"

"W-well, yes, I do." Now when she stood just next to him, Sakura couldn't help thinking about how Neji was no less handsome then Sasuke, and he seemed to be notably more polite to her as well. However, there was something about Neji that made her very nervous, especially those strange silvery-white eyes of his…

"A-anyway," Sakura continued, realizing that Neji was waiting for her to go on, "The Great Tournament is a tournament between the nine schools that is conducted approximately every two years. The schools entitled for participation are: Rakuyou High School, Konoha High School, Nanyou Institute, Seito Academy, Suna Institute, Kyoshou High School, Yoshuu Institute, Chengtu High School, and Liangzhou High School, and each school can field up to five of its fighters for the tournament. The Great Tournament determines which of nice schools gains or retains the possession of Gyokuji, the Imperial Seal that symbolizes rule over Tokyo."

"And nothing else?"

"Well…" Sakura paused before speaking again, "Some say that the Great Tournament is where the fighters' destinies are realized…"

_"Oh-oh, did I just say that?!"_ Sakura mentally slapped herself, _"Who believes in things like destiny this day and age?! And I said it in front of Hyuuga Neji too, one of Konoha's five greatest fighters, and a handsome guy to boot!"_

After the incident with Sasuke and Lee the other day, Sakura viewed her chances of conquering some handsome guy much more realistically, but nevertheless, she didn't want to completely ruin her chances with Neji, and so…

"…Which is just stupid superstition of course, hehe!" Sakura added hastily, with a short fake laugh and equally fake smile upon her face.

"Or so the ignorants think," Neji's demeanour towards Sakura noticeably dropped by several degrees, and it didn't escape Sakura's notice.

_"Oh-oh, I ended saying the wrong thing, again. Why does it always happen to me?"_

"But either way, I suppose your knowledge about the Great Tournament at least counts for something." Neji continued meanwhile, "Since I don't expect you to be familiar with the most recent events, I suppose it is my duty to fill you in. The last tournament was fought a little over two years ago, and…" For a moment, Neji paused, "…It ended in the worst way possible."

"The worst way possible?"

"Yes. A mere freshman won the tournament, killing some of the best fighters of that time and earning himself a name of Red Devil. That man's name was Chuuei Toutaku, now a leader of Rakuyou High School. In the final, Konoha's strongest fighters of that time, Hatake Kakashi, Maito Gai, Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai were all killed single-handed by Chuuei Toutaku. And since that victory, Rakuyou High School has been constantly increasing its sphere of influence, completely annihilating some of the lesser schools and prompting some other schools to side with them. Of them, Suna Institute and a less-known Yosyuu High School are seen to openly support Toutaku. And of the remaining seven major schools, only Kyoshou High School is seen to actively oppose Toutaku; the other six schools, including us, are currently maintaining neutrality, though we all may have to choose sides sooner or later… But that is beside the point. The point is that two of you were chosen to fight for Konoha High School on the coming Great Tournament, along with me and Tenten."

For both Sakura and Naruto, the news obviously came as a surprise, but their reaction to it couldn't have been more different.

"Really?!" Naruto's entire face was shining with happiness and excitement, but before he could thank Neji aloud like he wanted to do…

"No! You can't send Naruto and me to fight at the Great Tournament!" The shock from the news prompted usually soft-spoken Sakura to break into shouting, "I have just got transferred here, and Naruto, well…" For a moment, Sakura paused, "…A-anyway, isn't this a kind of thing you of Konoha's Five should be doing?"

"Normally, yes, but… As you both of you well know, Rock Lee is currently isn't in condition to fight, and both Yamanaka Ino and Uchiha Sasuke went missing, so the Five were reduced to just me and Tenten. And because of it, two of you were chosen to fight alongside with us at the coming Great Tournament…" Neji paused, looking Sakura and Naruto over critically, "…Although personally, I would rather have someone like Hinata to fight alongside with us."

"H-Hinata-chan?!" Naruto couldn't help exclaiming aloud.

He has always known Hinata as a shy and quiet girl who always looked down whenever the two of them met, and on whom he developed quite a crush lately, but…

"Yes." Neji replied, casting a cold glance at Naruto, "Although at the times she may not look to be much of a fighter, Hinata is a member of Hyuuga family, like I am, and as such, she was put through extensive training since her childhood. She is not my equal, but she is nevertheless way ahead of most of our school's other fighters in terms of her fighting ability. But unfortunately, it was our leader's decision that two of you will be representing Konoha High School in the coming Great Tournament alongside with me and Tenten, and there is nothing either of us can do about it."

"Wait a moment!" Naruto exclaimed again, "I always thought it were you of the Five that were calling the shoots here! What's with all that talk of a leader?!"

Neji and Tenten just stared at Naruto, Tenten – with her eyes visibly widened, while Neji hid his astonishment better.

"Um……. What?"

"You mean to tell that you studied in Konoha High School for two years and you have never heard of its leader, Nara Shikamaru, number one student in the whole Japan?!" Sakura exclaimed in astonishment.

"Number one student in the whole Japan?!" Now it was Naruto's turn to be astonished, "You mean that our leader is the best fighter in the whole Japan?!"

"No, baka, not the best fighter, but the best STUDENT! You know, some people STUDY at school, and Nara Shikamaru is considered to be the best student in the whole Japan, a genius, actually." Come to think of it, while Nara Shikamaru was widely renowned for his genius, Sakura has never heard anything about his fighting skills…

"It's good to see that you are well-informed, unlike your friend here," As she got out of her thoughts, Sakura once again caught Neji's eyes upon her, "If it is so, would you care to name the leaders of all the major schools?"

The request caught Sakura by surprise. _"Is he… testing me, or what?"_

"V-very well," Though surprised by an unexpected request, Sakura was fully up to the task, "As we all know, our school's leader is Nara Shikamaru, and as you have already mentioned, Rakuyou High School's leader is Chuuei Toutaku."

"And the others?"

"Nanyou Institute's leader is Enjutsu Kouro. Kyoshou High School's – Sousou Moutoku. Yoshuu Institute's – Enshou. Seito Academy's – Ryuubi Gentoku. And Suna Institute's is Uchiha Itachi." Sakura paused there was something about that last name… "Wait a minute. Uchiha… Isn't Sasuke-san Uchiha as well?"

"Well… He is, although it is a little delicate matter." This time, it was Tenten who replied Sakura.

"A delicate matter?"

"Well, you see…" For a moment, Tenten hesitated, as if considering if she should tell Sakura this, but eventually decided to go on, "…Two years ago, shortly after the previous Great Tournament, Uchiha Itachi murdered his entire family…"

Sakura grasped, she was expecting anything but this.

"No way… It cannot be true…"

"Sadly, it is. Sasuke was the only one who survived the massacre… No, he was rather left alive, after being forced to see his family murdered. Following that, Itachi transferred into Suna Institute, where he challenged and killed its leader, Baki. With support of some of Suna's best fighters, Itachi assumed the position of Suna's new leader, which he holds to this day."

"But, the police…" It was only after Tenten had finished that Sakura found the strength to speak again.

"…Is all but powerless against Itachi and Suna Institute."

Sakura only nodded in response: it was a more or less common knowledge that with their skill and strength, fighters were effectively above law, and as long as they didn't directly threatened the government, it rather preferred to let them kill and maim each other then get involved in their bloody wars.

For a few minutes, everybody was silent: Sakura and Naruto didn't know what else to say, Neji was looking at something on his cell phone, and Tenten seemed to be content to simply watch him. Finally, Sakura broke the silence.

"A-anyway… What now?"

In response, Neji silently showed her his cell phone and the message displayed on it.

**News from the Great Tournament!**

**Ganryou from Yoshuu defeats ****Gakushu from Nanyou**

**Ryomou Shimei from Nanyou defeats both Ganryou and Bunshuu from Yoshuu**

**Nanyou Institute wins with score 2:1**

* * *

"Attention! The train will proceed to the depot, please vacate the cars! Attention! The train will proceed to the depot, please vacate the cars!"

Even as the passengers hurried to act upon the message, the five paid it no attention, pointedly making their way into one of the cars. The car was not empty, and the teenagers' eyes immediately fell upon four other teenagers: two boys and a girl who kept together, and a young man in a business suit sitting apart from them. The five teenagers seemed to all but ignore the young man in business suit, as they came closer to the trio.

"Only three fighters against the five of us? Heh, looks like Suna Institute has got too overconfident for their own good!"

It was the teenager in the front, apparently the leader of the five who spoke. In response, the girl rose from her seat, letting what looked like a huge fan rest upon it.

"Three?" The girl smirked at the five teenagers as she spoke, "I don't think you need to worry about our numbers, since none of you are going to make it past me. So, who's first?"

* * *

**News from the Great Tournament!**

**Temari from Suna defeats all five fighters from ****Chengtu**

**Suna Institute wins with score 5:0**

**Next match:**

**Konoha High School vs. Seito Academy**

* * *

As four of them came out to the platform atop the building in some seemingly abandoned factory, Sakura, Naruto, Neji and Tenten immediately saw the pair that has been waiting for them there. One was a young man with short black hair. He was probably of about the same age that they were, but looked older because of his neat business suit and a serious expression upon his face. Another was a girl with light blue-gray eyes and long black hair that was almost reaching the floor. In notable contrast with the young man, the girl was dressed in what looked like a very abbreviated school uniform, almost bordering on being indecent: her white t-shirt ended just bellow her breasts, leaving her abdomen bare, and her miniskirt was so short that it barely covered the girl's underwear, and Sakura involuntary caught herself on a realization that it would reveal more then it would cover when the girl moves.

"Only two of them?!"

Unsurprisingly, it was Naruto who was the first to speak, although it surprised Sakura that the girl's state of undress wasn't the first thing that caught his eye.

"Not two, one," came Neji's reply, "The man is a fighter from the permanently neutral Wu Prefecture Senior High School, he is here only to moderate the match, nothing more."

Naruto's eyes visibly widened at this revelation.

"Only one? How dare they underestimate us like this?! I'll…"

Naruto was interrupted by a light bonk on his head – a courtesy of Sakura.

"Don't be stupid, Naruto. If they have only one fighter, it means that we can defeat them all the easier. Right?"

Sakura looked at Neji, but he didn't seem to even notice that she was addressing him; instead, his eyes were fixed on the girl on the opposite side of the platform.

"_Kanu Unchou from Seito, one of the strongest fighters alive… __Is even my strength enough against an opponent like her?"_

Silently, Neji moved towards the girl, and the girl in turn stepped away from the platform's railing by which she stood and moved forward to meet him. It was she who spoke the first when they finally stopped about two meters apart from each other.

"Say… Do you believe in the destiny of Magatama?"

"I do."

Neji's reply was simple and grim, and he was fully aware of the significance of it.

"A pity… I believe only in destiny I make with my own hands. And I will accept nothing short of his best from the firstborn of Hyuuga family."

_During the time of the Three Kingdoms, Kanu Unchou was called Invincible General, and it was said that he has never lost a battle__. Not until he has lost his life when he was defeated by another general. That general's name was…_

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_Ryomou Shimei_


End file.
